


Love Potion

by Black Blossom (DevilishKouhai)



Series: Mermaid [3]
Category: Fate/EXTRA, Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Past Relationship(s), Ritsuka's crush is up to your interpretation, Sequel-ish to Voice of Reason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2020-06-09 22:04:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19484944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DevilishKouhai/pseuds/Black%20Blossom
Summary: She was ugly right down to the core. But he was ugly too for finding such filth to be so beautiful.





	1. Chapter 1

Ritsuka Fujimaru fancied herself to be an egalitarian. However, a certain occasion happening every year on a particular month is shaking her resolve.

Valentine's Day.

She cannot help it. She is human, after all and she has emotions like everyone else. That was why when she noticed a particular person's chocolate had a lot more portions than others, she panicked. She unconsciously did this. She had the audacity to indulge on being a maiden at a difficult point in humanity's life, hoping the person she liked will return her feelings.

And someone like Ritsuka, who was honest to a fault would dwell on her momentary lapse and blame herself for being too selfish. Initially, she wanted to make chocolates for everyone in Chaldea as a sign of gratitude but her intentions slowly became impure. To admonish herself, she ate the chocolates meant for the person she liked and silently reflected on her actions for the rest of her day.

"Master~ Why the long face?"

Enter Kiara.

After her defeat in SERAPH, she did not expect to be summoned in Chaldea in a different class. Some servants (a foulmouthed author, in particular) did not take her arrival too happily. Not that she minded, nor was she surprised. However, the temporary bliss she felt from her previous servant's ire gradually turned into boredom after a few weeks.

Because of her class, it was difficult for her to join in already established teams. She also faced the unfortunate situation of being in the waiting list for materials so until now, she had stayed in her second ascension. She was a benchwarmer, and Andersen made it a point to mock her for it at every opportunity.

To kill her boredom, she started playing pranks on her master, which is what she is also doing right now. Sessyoin was confident in her emotional quotient so she could already tell why her dear master had a particularly gloomy aura surrounding her. Ritsuka did well in masking it enough to prevent Mash and the other servants from worrying.

To an ordinary servant, her dear master's feat could have been admirable, but Kiara with her curved lips and knowing smiles, only saw it as an opportunity for mild entertainment.

The preoccupied Ritsuka was not able to hear her so Kiara had to call out to her again, hiding the smirk she couldn't help but muster. "Playing with your food is bad manners, you know~"

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Ritsuka's voice cracked in shock. "I didn't mean to play with food. I-it's very delicious, honest! Emiya is a great cook!" The more Ritsuka made excuses to smooth things over, the more the smirk in the alter ego's eyes widened.

Ritsuka felt ashamed of her actions and grew even more downcast. Kiara sensed this and toned down her teasing.

"It is a busy week is it not? Being lost in one's thoughts is normal, especially for the savior of humanity."

" 'Savior' is a bit..." Ritsuka thought that if her servant knew what selfishness she indulged herself today, she would surely take her words back. Such is she, the final master of the world, forced to a role she wasn't sure she is even qualified of filling. She tries to be cheerful but sometimes, the thoughts of inferiority come to her.

The innate sincerity of her dear master piqued the Alter ego's interest. To admit she was teasing would only cause Ritsuka to dismiss her greeting. So instead of the most logical action, Kiara chose to flatter. Judging from the bashful expression in her master's face, it seemed to be working.

"In my state now, I still have a lot to learn. But I feel happy that you think of me that way, Kiara." Ritsuka became more conscious of her table manners and started paying attention to the food on her tray. Because she had stayed up late last night to make everyone's chocolate, she overslept the next day and missed lunch time. Apparently, Mash tried to wake her up but she was sleeping so deeply that she wasn't able to hear her.

"I mean...even now. I'm troubling everyone. I overslept. If Emiya didn't save lunch for me, I might have been starving until dinner."

"My my~"

Until now, she still felt like she was on a daze. Kiara had been patient listening to her and it made her feel more at ease.

"It is important to take breaks, master. But I am quite curious," Kiara looked at Ritsuka sweetly. "Whatever were you doing last night?"

Despite her servant's words, the tone of Kiara's inquiry sounded more concerned than curious. Ritsuka did not feel flustered because of this. However, she was at a loss for an answer. She despised lying but at the same time, she did not want to be rude.

"Is it something you don't want to talk about?"

"N-not exactly!" her true feelings came out and before she knew it, a blush was coloring her cheeks. "You know what tomorrow is, right?"

"Valentine's day?"

"Y-yes..."

Kiara's sweet smile turned even sweeter. How adorable, she thought. "Staying up two nights before Valentine's, making chocolates for everyone so she would not interfere with other female servants and staff making chocolate the day before Valentine's." She heard a tiny peep of a sound come out of her companion but the nun continued her monologue.

"Choosing a similar chocolate for everyone that she had stayed up 3 more all nighters for just to choose a flavor everyone can appreciate. No drop of favoritism: ingredients are measured down to the last decimal. Master..." she had not been looking at Ritsuka while she had been talking out loud, so she only noticed the deep red blush on her Master's face now. It had come to a point that it was almost the same color as her hair.

"Have I hit the mark?"

Ritsuka covered her face. "A-almost."

"Almost?"

"I..." Ritsuka almost whispered.

"I might have...unconsciously...err." she leaned into Kiara's ear.

"I might have shown a biiiiit of a favoritism." she felt obligated to share her plight to the concerned nun before her. Kiara knows far too much and seemed to genuinely be concerned about her somber mood which made the guilt of keeping it a secret to her even heavier.

"I... Ate it. I did make a spare but...I don't like it."

"What do you not like, master?"

"Well...." Ritsuka went back to her seat and opened the pudding cup on the tray. "I don't like the fact that I still did something so unfair, but a part of me was happy."

Kiara hid a smirk. "And what is so wrong with being happy?" She pretended not to know what her master would say next.

"Do I really have to be so happy? I cannot be happy for myself."

Ah, and there it was. An opportunity that she was waiting for~

Kiara felt a wave of excitement tingle in her body, but she was able to mask the pleasurable sensation by smiling at her. "My, but isn't that something you should not deprive yourself of? Happiness is a vital emotion. To give in a bit to it, would that be so sinful?"

"The problem is...my concept of happiness does not benefit other people. It only benefits myself." Ritsuka smiled bitterly. "If I give into it now, I would become greedier. I would seek for more opportunities to become happy." the pudding in her mouth tasted bland. However, she did not want Emiya's efforts to be wasted so she managed to finish it all. "This is not the time to be selfish. My life isn't mine anymore."

When Ritsuka looked at her with such an earnest expression, Kiara responded to it with her usual smiles and continued her clueless facade. "Master, I have a proposition."

"Huh?"

Kiara replaced the empty pudding cup in her master's hands with a small vial. It had a pretty pink liquid inside it, and when the sunshine strikes its container, it emitted an iridescent glow. "Please accept my gift."

"B-but I haven't even given your chocolate yet..."

"Fufu~" Kiara let out a happy hum. "I require no reciprocations. This is not a return gift."

"Th-then...if you say so." Ritsuka was mesmerised by the colorful glow of the vial. "What is this, exactly?"

"A magic spell to give you courage~ just kidding." Kiara felt a bad omen just as she uttered those words. If Andersen were to hear her now, he would definitely smash her to pieces.

"Kiara?"

"Fufu, it's actually a mild aphrodisiac. Another servant gave it to me, but I thought it would suit you more." luckily she managed to bounce back quickly for Ritsuka to notice.

"Place a few drops of this liquid to that person's food and they will instantly notice you. It's not a strong potion but, I daresay it is powerful enough for them to feel a bit more attracted to you~"

"L-love?!"

Oh, she finally managed to process it, was what Kiara thought. "Love potion?!" Ritsuka was able to catch her mouth before she said any more.

"I guess you could say that," Kiara agreed. "But it wears off quickly so it wouldn't be considered a proper one. Just enough to give the person you love the butterflies."

It sounded so tempting. It felt like an answer to her problems. But can she really accept this? If the person she favored were to look her way just a tiny bit, then perhaps if they start liking her back, the guilt of selfishness could be shared with them. A part of Ritsuka felt guilty for acting so selfishly because of the uncertainty of that person's feelings for her after all.

"In the end, using it or not is up to you, master." Kiara pretended to act concerned. "If I may share my thoughts though...." she held the smaller hands of her young master in her own.

"You may be the final master of humanity, but living a life like a machine's would be painful for you someday. That was why I gave this to you."

"Kiara..."

"You need not show me such a guarded expression, dear master." she smiled comfortingly. "I did this of my own will. There's no need to feel obligated."

She heard the subdued chattering of some servants coming closer and felt that it was her cue to leave. "Well then, I shouldn't be keeping you for so long. It was lovely sharing a meal with you,"

She was further away from her master's vicinity so she was only able to lip read a "Thank you" coming out of her mouth.

* * *

The corridors of Chaldea were bustling with activity. Almost all female servants have a look in their eyes that seemed like they were readying for war. The males had looks of desperation and despair that should have piqued her interest, but felt only boring to her.

"She will give in to her desires soon enough," she muttered to herself, looking for a path with less traffic, but stumbled upon something...troublesome instead.

Unfortunately for Kiara, her exchange with Ritsuka had a witness. And once she realized who it was with that obnoxious laughter, her frown deepened.

"Andersen..."

The tiny man dared to block her path! She went the other way to avoid walking into him but she only heard his annoying, off putting deep voice. And he even dared to speak!

"Hah, what a spectacle! If Shakespeare were here, he would be beside himself!" Kiara, not wanting to back down from his jabs faced him again, the frown in her face seemingly permanent.

"However, I do not know which is more entertaining to watch: the descent of a deceived fool in future humiliation by the machinations of a bored degenerate, or the said degenerate, incapable of caring for anyone but herself, acting like a charitable fairy godmother."

Charitable? He dare call what she did charity?

"If that is how you really see the situation, then your prided human observation is truly deserving of a third-rate's!"

"Then, pray tell, what exactly are you doing, Sessyoin Kiara? Finally deciding you need to blend with humans after all? Or are you pretending to have maiden-like thoughts?"

What on earth is he saying? Is he implying she genuinely wanted to help her master? How absurd!

Unfazed by her glares, Andersen continued his insults. "Do you actually desire to be a normal, human girl? To begin with, you are too old for that, and you are most certainly not human."

"As expected of an author with a head filled only with useless vocabulary." Kiara countered. "The answer is there all along. This situation amuses me. And so does our little Master's future look of dejection...unless it actually goes well of course."

"Unless?! Unless?!" the pocket sized author laughed from the bottom of his heart.

"So you are merely relying on probability for this so-called entertainment of yours? I cannot contain my bemusement! I am stunned! What happened to that calculating master of mine in the previous grail war?"

"You!!!"

She could not stand being insulted any longer! True, she may not be the most exemplary character, but even she does not deserve to be made a caricature of such an incorrigible, incompetent, surly, virgin--

"Kiara." His seemingly inexhaustible laughter actually managed to cease. Kiara looked down. What verbal abuse will those offensive lips of his mutter next?

"Have my words actually reached you?" But instead of the usual mudslinging, he asked her an innocent question. She only noticed now but, wherever Andersen was heading to, they were now alone. She had been following him, refusing to back down to his attacks. She felt like a fly trapped by the tiniest spider in existence.

"It seems like a part of you still has a dreaming heart. However, your story has ended. Channeling your unfinished business on an innocent may be very you, but do you really want another villainess role to add to your portfolio?"

"And why is it any of your business?"

Andersen sighed. "Ahhh you're right. It's not my business. I should have stopped caring ever since---" he realized his Freudian slip and blushed.

But Sessyoin Kiara was too absorbed on being found out to notice. She was also equally embarrassed. "Even then, you were a nuisance, Andersen. I even have to put you away."

"Afraid of being schooled by a bronze?"

"Hah, with that intimidating form, then sure."

What was he doing? Kiara was right. He should have stopped caring about her business since the Moon Cell. But the very fact that she is irredeemable...made her all the more...

Radiant.

He stopped himself from saying that word. He should have forgotten everything by now, but he remembered her desperate wish in SERAPH. Perhaps he was wrong all along. Perhaps ugliness can dream, and dream so... 

"Talking to you is a waste of oxygen. With humanity on the verge of extinction, should we really waste valuable resources? Leave."

"With pleasure!"

And she was gone.

Andersen sighed in relief. She would never know how he saw that dream she had while she was melting away in the ocean, the way she sought for his presence in her final moments. And "she" had never even met him then.

"She reduced me to a Prince charming on a white horse archetype." he muttered to himself, pretending to be annoyed. "But how refreshing. To think I was the one who was wrong all along."

She was ugly, right down to the core. But he was ugly too for finding such filth to be so beautiful.


	2. Epilogue(sort of)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a deleted part of the fanfic that I felt did not fit in the flow of the story. I realized I made Ritsuka's final decision a mystery and that wasn't my intention. I just didn't know where to place it in the final draft. Anyway, please just consider this deleted scene an epilogue of sorts. Enjoy(?)!

A few hours after their chat, she did not overhear something unusual in Chaldea and felt a wave of disappointment. But servants noted their master was acting strangely. Her hilarious exchanges with other servants were a gossip among Chaldea staff. The next day should prove to be promising. 

"Kiara!" Ritsuka called out to her in glee. 

"My, lively as ever, are we not?" she let out a giggle. 

"Thank you for yesterday!" 

"No need for thanks. Did it go well?" 

Ritsuka nodded. "By the way, I want to return this to you."

Kiara needed to suppress her amusement as Ritsuka handed her a full vial. "So you did not use it after all?" 

"Yes..." her master's cheer was unwavering. "I gave it to that person just like how I gave it to everyone else."

"And that made you happy?" 

For a moment, Ritsuka's smiles had a hint of maturity and worldliness. "Everyone's happiness is also mine's. I realized that after our talk yesterday, so thank you. I don't need this at all."

"I see. Ah, this is my return gift for yesterday..." 

Their exchange went on swimmingly, with Ritsuka not suspecting the contents of the bottle at all. Yes, it was all a sham. She left just as she had arrived: with a force of spontaneity and contagious cheer. She knew her dear master of all people was strong, but hearing of her obvious internal conflict for the rest of yesterday was amusing, so she still counted it as her win.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be posted on Kiara's birthday but I wasn't able to finish it. The fic is actually just a collection of Kiara and Andersen's banters but I wanted to make a story about it.


End file.
